How This Couple Turned a Run-Down House Into an LA Icon

The Mosaic Tile House is an icon in Venice, California, but few people know how it became this beautiful work of art.

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The house has been a work in progress for the last 25 years. Cheri Pann creates the tiles, while her husband, Gonzalo Duran, breaks and adds them to new spots around the site. The inside and outside are covered in colorful broken pieces, and you’ll probably never see anything else like it! But covering the entire house was never the plan.

“None of the tile that was all in the front yard was planned to be,” Duran told Best Products. “It all started in the bathroom and then it just got out of hand.” But it seems to have all worked out for them, because Pann said that “the house was very ugly” beforehand.

Just like how there was no plan at the beginning, there still isn’t when adding new tiles. Duran just starts working and sees how the shape goes. So there’s a sense of spontaneity throughout the house.

The love story behind the couple is even more beautiful than the house itself. Pann and Duran found love at first sight in an art store.

For just $15, the couple will give you a tour of the property themselves. Trust us, hearing them talk about their work in person is a priceless experience all its own.